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Parks, Recreation & Trails

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Parks, Recreation & Trails Imagining Allegheny County’s Tomorrow Dave Fawcett & Meg Cheever, Co-Chairs Parks, Recreation & Trails County of Allegheny Executive Summary The Parks, Recreation & Trails Vision Team espoused the belief that the county’s abundance of parks, trails and riverfronts is an important component of the region’s economic development while simultaneously acting as a mechanism to preserve the integrity of the environment. Furthermore, the team recognized that the County’s park system is a major component of the regional value proposition will enhance the region’s ability to promote itself as “green” which gives it a strategic and competitive edge in the race to recruit companies, families, individuals, and students to move here. Using these fundamental beliefs as a point of departure, the team recommends the following: Adopt a Comprehensive Vision of a world-class system of interconnected parks and trails, including a Countywide Riverfront Park, serving residents and visitors throughout Allegheny County o Define our park system not just our traditional county parks, but also our significant trail system and our efforts to develop lengths of linear park along our riverfronts. o Include Development of a Countywide Riverfront Park, as contemplated by County Ordinance (No. 52-07- OR) enacted into law in 2006 in the comprehensive vision. o Define the system as uninterrupted trails and linear parks running, to the greatest extent possible, with bridge connections and amenities along the way. o Endorse the vision of a comprehensive network of trails that, to the greatest extent possible, connect to existing trails, communities, traditional county parks and the riverfronts. o View the park system as a substantial competitive advantage for the Pittsburgh region in attracting new business and new residents and boosting recreational tourism. Develop a Unified and Accountable Management Structure, Including Moving Parks Maintenance Crews from the Department of Public Works to a newly-reconstituted Department of Parks and Recreation o Embrace “best practices” in park management which contains all functions directly related to parks management and maintenance. o Provide accountability and permit strategic deployment of resources via a unified management structure. Immediately Establish a Woodland Management Program o Commit resources and acquire professional assistance to manage the 9,000 acres of woodlands. o Recognize park trees reap environmental and economic benefits. Maximize Revenue from Park Operations and Protect the Dedicated Allegheny Regional Asset District (ARAD) Funding Designated for the County Parks o Establish a county park cost accounting and budgeting system. o Revise and modernize policies regulating annual fees and charges for park facilities, programs and services. County of Allegheny o Develop and administer a year-round marketing and public relations plan. o Review current operations to determine additional sources of revenue. o Preserve and increase dedicated ARAD funding. Promote a Focus on the “User Experience” including a Coordinated Universal Navigation/Information System o Give primary focus to developing a coordinated universal signage and online/mobile guidance system. o Convene a stakeholder group to develop and implement a coordinated system with universal appeal. Implement Development of Countywide Riverfront Park and Connectors o Create a “Trail Ombudsman” within the Unified Park Structure. o Develop a List of Priorities and Opportunities for Property Acquisition for the Enhancement of Existing Parks and for Development of Linear Parks, Trails and Related Amenities. o Negotiate with Railroads and other Riverfront Property Owners to Acquire Property Interests consistent with Development of a Comprehensive Network of Trails and a Countywide Riverfront Park. o Develop Trails and Linear Parks, and Prioritize Bicycle and Pedestrian Improvements, as Part of Transportation Initiatives. o Encourage Municipalities with Riverfronts to Adopt Local Zoning Regulations to Protect and Restore Riverfronts and to Facilitate Development of Riverfront Linear Parks, Trails and Amenities. Propose a Referendum to Add to Dedicated Funding for Parks and Trails County of Allegheny Vision Team Charge The Parks, Recreation & Trails Vision Team is charged with reviewing the current efforts to address these portions of the county’s quality of life experience, to identify coordination of efforts and to make recommendations as to how that coordination can be improved and a process put forth to integrate and collaborate on these efforts as much as possible in order to further the county’s overall development Each vision team, within its charge and conversation, is expected to address sustainability, intergovernmental relations (recognizing existing relationships and identifying potential new ones) and diversity/inclusion. Each of these items should be folded into the recommendations and report made by the team. Additionally, for each recommendation that is made, the scope must be within one of three fields for which the county has a role: the county performs, or should perform, an administrative function related to the recommendation; the recommendation pertains to a financial interest or financial support of the county; and, the recommendation lends itself to advocacy by the county. Those recommendations that do not fit within one of those three fields should not be a focus of the vision team. County of Allegheny Findings & Recommendations Recommendation # 1(a): Comprehensive Vision The Allegheny County Vision Team for Parks, Recreation and Trails endorses the vision of a comprehensive world-class system of interconnected parks and trails, including a Countywide Riverfront Park, serving residents and visitors throughout Allegheny County. Thus, our park system should be defined as not just our traditional county parks, but also our significant trail system and our efforts to develop lengths of linear park along our riverfronts. Recommendation # 1(b): The Vision Should Include Development of a Countywide Riverfront Park, as contemplated by County Ordinance enacted into law in 2006 (County Ordinance No. 52-07-OR attached) The Team endorses the vision of a Countywide Riverfront Park, defined as uninterrupted trails and linear parks running, to the greatest extent possible, along one side or the other of every major river in the County – the Allegheny, the Monongahela, the Youghiogheny and the Ohio – with bridge connections and amenities along the way. The Team also endorses the vision of a comprehensive network of trails that, to the greatest extent possible, connect to existing trails, communities, traditional county parks and the riverfronts. When combined with the many wonderful traditional parks in the region, this system would be a substantial competitive advantage for the Pittsburgh region in attracting new business and new residents and boosting recreational tourism. Recommendation # 2: Develop a Unified and Accountable Management Structure, Including Moving Parks Maintenance Crews from the Department of Public Works to a newly-reconstituted Department of Parks and Recreation The Vision Team endorses a management recommendation made in earlier studies, namely: Allegheny County should adopt an integrated management structure to manage, restore, maintain, budget and operate the system. A full ten years have passed since this recommendation was first made to the County. A management study completed in 2005 by Wallace, Roberts & Todd, reminded readers that: The 2002 Allegheny County Parks Comprehensive Master Plan…recommended numerous changes to help the park system achieve its full potential. Establishment of a new organizational structure to enable a greater focus on the success of the park system was identified as the highest priority recommendation. The current occupants of the positions of Allegheny County Director of Parks and Recreation and Allegheny County Director of Public Works, who share responsibility for current operation of the existing county park system, attended the Vision Team meeting on April 25, 2012. It was evident that these individuals enjoy excellent communication and work as cooperatively as possible in a “partnership” mode to further the interests of the county park system. Nonetheless, as stated in the 2005 Wallace, Roberts & Todd Report, “Park and recreation functions are not wholly integrated within the new department, with Public Works retaining responsibility for parks maintenance and purchasing”. The “best practices” in park management would be for the Parks & Recreation Department to contain all functions directly related to parks management and County of Allegheny maintenance. Thus, for example, the park maintenance work crews should be transferred from the Department of Public Works to the Parks Department and supervised by the Parks Department on an ongoing basis. A unified management structure would provide accountability and permit strategic deployment of resources. Management Objectives Should Be To: 1. Restore and develop the physical and ecological infrastructure of the entire park system. 2. Implement programs that provide a range of activities for people of all ages and interests and that encourage the development of future generations of park and trail stewards. 3. Preserve, interpret and disseminate the history of the parks, respecting the historic character and design of the parks and the social and ecological history of the parks and the region. 4. Upgrade park operations, including enhancement
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